Deliciously Diverseiful Books I Think You Should Read (ASAP, To Be Specific)

Ahhhhh, DIVERSITY. It’s quite the hot topic in the bookish world, particularly with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaigns. I’m more partially to the #WeNeedDiverseCake campaigns, but I hear it’s not a “real issue”. So ridiculous. BUT REGARDLESS. I totally think we need to celebrate minorities and diversity. And, pfft, I won’t deny how nosey I am, but I love the sneak peeks into diverse lives. I want to know what it’s like to be a second-generation Chinese. I want to understand how it’s like to be blind, or have schizophrenia, or PTSD. I WANT TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS.

I did have a small flailing moment of confusion as to what exactly can be considered diversity. So I ducked to the WNDB website and stole their description:

“We recognise all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of colour, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.”

So that’s what I’ve decided to go with for my collection of diverse books! Particularly ethnicities and disabilities, and also atypical neurology. ‘Cause I’m awesome with funky words like that.

And you know what? I don’t think my Diverse Book diet is too shabby. Which is marvellously pleasing. Although I will beg for recommendations at the end of this post.

While I think contemporary is really getting its act together and churning out deliciously diverseiful (totally a word, don’t argue now) books…fantasy mostly fails. EXCEPT FOR THE LUNAR CHRONICLES. They have French, Asian, African-American characters…oh, and even wolves! Super diverse wolves!

This book is partly about 9/11 and partly about 9-year-old Oskar, who has Aspergers, who goes on a pretty wild and random journey to find a lock to fit his key. I love the stream-of-consciousness style of writing and all the delicious facts and the raw emotion. IT’S JUST A GOOD BOOK, OKAY? Don’t doubt me.

Fun Fact: The book mentions Tom Hanks randomly, and then, in the movie, Tom Hanks plays the father. I JUST THINK THAT’S KIND OF COOL.

Oh! Oh! There are so many reasons this book is completely fabulous. Because a) it’s Australian, b) the narrator is from Lebanon, c) there’s tons of Lebanon culture in there, d) which means LOTS OF LEBANESE FOOD.

Funish Fact: This was my very VERY FIRST physical review-copy. Such fond memories. Awk!

I know it’s flavors instead of flavours but I can’t bring myself to fall to the American spelling. I CAN’T. I have my loyalties you know, firstly to England and secondly to the tea the Americans threw in the sea. BUT I DIGRESS.

This is one of those hidden pineapples — it was totally addictive and amazing and like no one has read it, HOW DO I COPE?! Ahem. It features a deaf protagonist who also manages a music band. Yes. Isn’t it intriguing?!

This is a horribly good yet extraordinarily good. 86% of me is shouting, “SAVE YOURSELF THE PAIN AND DON’T READ IT.” But, bah, you need to cry. So read it.

It’s dual narrated and one of the narrators has undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Not to mention it’s incredibly beautifully written. I possibly choked up, too, by the way. This Vulcan cried?! C’MON. WHAT MORE CAN I SAY TO CONVINCE YOU?

Despite being by my two favourite authors of ever (Cassandra Clare and Holly Back), this book…meh. The ending was awesome, but if I’m napping through the beginning, no amount of epic master wizardry at the end is going to wake me up. EXCEPT MAYBE AN EXPLOSION OR SOMETHING.

Regardless. This is about Cal, who has a disability that leaves him crippled in one leg and mostly without sense of humour and zero happiness. Devastating way to live. Without humour, I mean.

This book is specifically about mixed-race kids! YAY. It’s also about said kids falling off cliffs, so I see no reason why you should skip it. Emotional pain is the bookworm’s life plan. BUT REGARDLESS. The protagonist, Jewel, is partially Jamaican and also Mexican.

This is actually a sequel, but you could read it as a standalone. It’s dual narrated and has a double explosion of epic diversity with Flynn being Irish and Jubilee is partially Chinese. The cover is also downright beautiful, and that’s a good enough reason to read it also.

Basically just read Michael Grant books. He’s my favourite because he mixes horror with speculative fantasy and then adds in the most AMAZING and adorable and broken characters of ever. And the diversity? I can’t even list it all. He’s so incredible with adding in minorities. There’s sociopathy and autism and depression. Then he has characters from Ecuador and Asia and also freaky flesh eating aliens. That’s totally diverse.

I secretly think this is about bipolar, but it’s never said, sooo…I SHALL KEEP MY THEORIES TO MYSELF. It’s definitely about mental illness, PTSD, delusions, and trees. There are many trees. Although trees aren’t exactly diverse, they are often under-appreciated.

TREES GIVE US BOOKS. I APPRECIATE THE TREES.

Well, I’m just sayin’.

-~-

SO! do you read a lot of diverse books?? what was the last diverse-ish book your read? oh oh oh can you recommend me some amazing ones? ALSO, tough question: do you think YA is doing a good job of representing minorities? or do you feel let down? LEMME KNOW ALL IN THE COMMENTS.

Comments

This past made me laugh lots and lots. And I have actually read about half these books, go me. One totally underappreciated book is Chanda’s secrets by allan stratton, set in a sub-saharan african country (which is nameless) about a girl whose mother has aids. It will hurt your book nerdy heart, I assure you. I recently read The Wrath and the Dawn, which was pretty diverse in terms of setting, and I’m currently read tricktsters queen, which is set in a fantasy world where the black people are planning to revolt against the white. and I think Ya is defineitly doing better. I’m ‘mixed race’ (though I wouldn’t call myself that) actually so I really related to bird.

I really, really, really, REALLLLY need to read 5 Flavours of Dumb! It’s been on my tbr for what feels like yonks! Also, I TOTALLY feel you on the American spelling front. It’s COLOUR, people, not COLOR! *shakes head*

FIVE FLAVOURS OF DUMB. I have no idea such book existed and you definitely got my attention with your little summary. I am so adding it to my TBR 🙂

I never purposely seek diverse books. But coincidentaly, my last 3 reads were books with diverse characters. Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati (Mohawk people and Mohicans in 18th century), Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (hero is half-Cherookee half-Irish, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS ONE, I LOVED IT!) and Everything,Everything by Nicola Yoon.

I feel like I don’t seek them as much (unless they’re about deaf people, because…i’m just really interested in deafness?! OR SOMETHING ahem) and AFASJDKLA I LVOE RAE CARSON. Have you read The Girl of Fire And Thorns?? I’m pretty sure everyone in there is Middle Eastern(ish…it is a fantasy world) and I totally am going to read Walk On Earth ASAP.

SO many here I NEED to read. The Lunar Chronicles is happening soon (thank you library). I own All the Bright Places just need to do it. There are a lso a couple that are new to me so I will check out – Great list!

You say Bird features kids falling off cliffs? *adds that to towering TBR* Cinder and all its sequels are totally epic that way (and Winter! I need Winter! Like, right now!). I actually haven’t read most of the books you’ve listed, but I am definitely interested now. Especially books about mental disorders–I like those. And, while I haven’t read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I have seen the movie (I do think I’d probably appreciate the book more on that one, maybe). And this #WeNeedDiverseCake movement, does that mean we should serve more red velvet cake and use more cream cheese frosting and brown sugar and other delicious yet underrepresented ingredients. Because, if so, sign me up.

IN THE FIRST PAGE NO LESS. Your tbr will thank me. Unless it falls over and kills you first, in which case, RIP but at least you went out spectacularly. (OMG I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME THESE DAYS.HHAHAHA I’M JUST IN A RANDOM MOOD CLEARLY. XD XD)
Ahem.
So yes.
I feel like Aspergers isn’t a mental disorder though. Autism, more so? Aspergers is just a way of thinking that’s different to the norm. *shrugs* But that’s just my two cents.

I totally think chocolate cake stars unfairly, I mean, HELLO. How often do people talk about banana bread when there’s chocolate cake standing right there? Also fruitcake is diverse. *nods* Let’s all sign up. Let’s have matching tee-shirts and infrequent gatherings were we eat diverse cake.

I agree about Aspergers. Sorry, I guess I didn’t word myself that well–it happens. I’ve always felt that people with Aspergers just have a few personality traits similar to those you find in Autism, but nowhere near as bad, if that makes any sense. Because I know people with Aspergers, and they aren’t impaired at all, although they struggle in certain areas. And it’s interesting the way Autism actually varies in severity, because sometimes people grow out of it, but sometimes it’s a real handicap.

Yes, I agree, we need to eat more fruitcake and banana bread and all the other lovelies that get overlooked. We should definitely have matching tee-shirts, but why, I ask, should these gatherings be infrequent? If we’re really to support diverse cake effectively, should we meet often?

I remember being taught that if the entire autism spectrum was put on a number line that autism would be the greatest “number” and Asperger’s would the smallest “number”. (LOL…hard to explain without a visual. xD)

They’re so different, yet it’s mind-blogging how people seem to think they’re more or less the same thing just because they’re on the same spectrum, you know?

And I think that autism has more physical handicaps – they might have trouble with their speech or motor control; whereas people with Asperger’s just struggle in the social and visual-spatial aspect of things.

🙂 Don’t worry, you’re fine to add your thoughts. I agree. And don’t worry, I think I can picture the Autism spectrum as a number line. Yeah, they are very different–a friend of mine has Asperger’s, and you really wouldn’t be able to tell unless you got to know him a bit more. I can see how people get them confused, because some of the traits are similar? But they are also so different, especially in severity. I wonder if Asperger’s doesn’t get as much attention, or people aren’t taught as much, because I have seen many people use them interchangeably, and I actually only learned the difference a few years ago. I feel a little bad–I hope I didn’t offend anyone with my original comment. When I mentioned mental disorders and then Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in the next line, I didn’t pay attention to how that might sound. I definitely don’t see Asperger’s as a mental disorder, just a bit of a hiccup–I guess? Because you can have it and pretty much live a normal life. Anyway, thanks for chiming in! 🙂

I started writing a post for this weeks TTT topic but then I got EXTREMELY ANNOYED and gave up. I absolutely agree that there needs to be more diversity and representation in books BUT I strongly dislike the ‘trend’ of people reading books so they can tick off a diversity checklist. I think diversity in fiction should just be a natural thing like there just so happens to be a character in a wheelchair or of Cuban descent, without it being forced down our throats and made into a big deal.

That said, I don’t seek out diversity in books but I do appreciate it when it is there especially when it’s done well. I haven’t come across much racial diversity in the books I read but I’ve read plenty that deal with other issues like mental health and socioeconomic issues.

Also, I totally forgot that Cal had a disability in The Iron Trial. I happened to love that book and I am mucho excitedo for The Copper Gauntlet (is that what it is called?)

Great list though. I’m always hesitant to pick up The Lunar Chronicles but I don’t know why. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close sounds interesting. I read a non-fiction book by him called Eating Animals which will make you never want to eat meat ever again. It was good though.

Okay I totally understand where you’re coming from. *nods sadly* I was even discussing this with my sister…but…what even IS diversity?? It can get muddled. And I also think that is weird to be saying mental illness is diverse…aaaand so is being, say, from Lebanon! Like HOW DO THEY RELATE?? It feel like too big of a term, tbh. And then, if an Asian protagonist is diverse…how? If there are BILLIONS of Asians? So diversity really means just what the market is selling in THAT particular time right? It’S SO COMPLEX AND CONFUSING TBH.

Your photos are always so amazing! <3 Anyway, great list. I'm actually reading Scarlet right now (for the first time) and loving it. Very intrigued by Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I think I shall have to investigate it further. Happy Tuesday! xx

WHEEE I LOVE THIS POST. A few diverse books I have read and loved: The Lunar Chronicles, Eleanor & Park, Legend by Marie Lu, Wonder by R.J Palacio and one I think you may not have heard of that I would recommend (I read it a while ago however) is Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.
Both my current WIPs have *diverse* characters: one is a contemporary and features depression and (maybe?) schizophrenia plus the MC is half Indian, half chinese (which I’m worried about because I want to do both the cultures justice, and I’m half Indian half Pakistani so I don’t know anything about Chinese people!) and the other WIP is a fantasy featuring characters living in a part of Italy but also a Malaysian and a Hungarian. HELP. It’s so nerve wracking to write diverse cultural characters if you don’t know much about them because then you’re worried that you won’t do them justice or will GET IT ALL WRONG.

I LOVE WONDER. *nods* I’m probably not as quite in love with it as everyone else (?) BUT I did quite enjoyt hat one and E&P and also Legend. :’) I shall look up Under the Mesquite though! AND ALSO ELIZABETH LAIRD. Thaaaankeeeee.

AGH. But I totally understand the fear, as a writer, for trying to be diverse and getting it wrong. D: Readers can be kind of unforgiving, too, right? I FEEL THE PAIN. THIS IS WHY I WRITE FANTASY. hehe

I don’t read a lot of diverse books – not because it’s something I’m against, but because I just don’t think about it, you know? Call it being privileged, I just don’t consider choosing which books I want to read be based on diversity, you know? If I like the sound of a book, I read it, whether it have Asian characters, Australian characters, Japanese cultures or what not, I just like the sound, and I read it. There are a lot of books you’ve listed that I agree with and plan to read, or have read, and yes, diversity is great, it just doesn’t rule which books I read..

Oh I totally get that! I don’t feel like I often actively seek them out (unless I want to know more about a topic, like, basically I read ALL THE BOOKS ON DEAFNESS I can possibly find because of writing research) but I feel like since more books are being published and are diverse, I read them. Because I read a lot of new books. SO YES.

I read quite diverse books now. I didn’t used to, but the past year or so, I’m reading a lot of diverse books, especially ones that explore mental illness.

I was gonna mention All The Bright Places but you robbed me of that chance! Rude! So, I will go for Lies Like Love by Louisa Reid. It’s pretty dark, and deals with a main character with a crippling mental illness.

I think MORE diverse books are getting published and are more accessible which is just excellent because it’s more usual to eat them now. 😀 OH I AM SORRY BUT NOT EVEN SORRY BECAUSE ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES. *cries for nine years* I shall go google Lies Like Love!!

A rare thing is happening, where I have only read a couple of the books on your list and am now manically adding the rest to my to read pile, so thank you for all the awesome recommendations – TO THE LIBRARY! (Also, totally with you on not using the American spelling of flavours, because really, what, no. And tea. All the tea.)

I SO love your book pics – that is one hobby I need to take up! I didn’t think of The Iron Trial – that one also has the girl, who is from a primarily non-caucasian country (sorry – it’s early and my brain cells are still regenerating apparently because I can’t remember her name OR where she’s from).

YESSSS. It’s so fun!! I absolutely adore TTT posts these days because I can take ALL THE PHOTOS OF ALL THE THINGS. HUZZAH. Omg, but yes! It did. And I think Cal actually had mixed-race background? But I cannot honestly say for sure, I might be thinking of a different book.

I’ve only read The Lunar Chronicles of these. 🙁 I really should read more diverse books in a lot of areas but somehow it never happens and I am left just reading books I am accustomed to and comfortable with. Bad me. But, I take this as a decent list of recommendations—so perhaps I’ll be able to enjoy them in the future.

Ooh, yay!! I hope you get to try some of them eventually. I’m totally not good at seeking out diverse books, per se, but if they’re getting published I usually discover and eat them. (I read a lot of new books. xD)

The only book here that I’ve read is Cinder, which is just all kinds of awesome, I desperately need to continue the series >.< And I've got This Shattered World waiting on my shelves for me, so I really need to get around to reading that one too.

I'm not very good at seeking out diverse books, so you've given me some good recommendations. Great list, Cait!

I recently have tried making an effort to read more diversely. I am going to definitely check some of these titles out! I have never read anything by Michael Grant. Thanks for all the great recommendations! Great book list!!

I’m currently reading a book (Blood Moon by Alyxandra Harvey) where vampires from around the world come together – does that count? 😀

I think YA has definitely improved when it comes to diversity. I’m not so sure I actually think about diversity when I decide to read a book; I’m just thinking about whether or not the book sounds interesting to me. I do like reading about books set in other places. I loved ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ and ‘The Lotus War’ series is also great.

*nods* But I totally agree! YA has improved and I think it’s just getting more aware every year. I loooove books set in other countries because it’s like travelling from the comfort of my own bed, hehe

Your posts are always so entertaining to read. I haven’t read the Lunar Chronicles yet, they have been on my bookshelf for a ridiculous amount of time! I also really want to read All the Bright Places, have heard such amazing things about it. Your list is great, your taste is so diverse, I think I need to read more books with different races and religions. I’m very much lacking with those!

AWK. THANKYOU!! *flails because has succeeded* Duuuude, you must try TLC asap, because they’re so epic and clever and fantastical. All the Bright Places is PAAAAAIN and ANGUISSSSSH. But read it. *nods* Just do it.

I do read as much diverse lit as I can. It’s one of my favorite topics to read about because I feel it’s so important. It was definitely diverse, Fans of The Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa which I buddy read with another blogger. You may have heard of these but:
1. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, 2. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, 3. Beast by Brie Spangler, 4. Ramona Drowning by Julie Murphy, 5. Fans of The Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa 6. The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie, 7. The Girl From Everywhere by Griding Heilig, Quiltbag by Ava Jae, 8. How It Ends by Catherine Lo, A lot of these aren’t out yet! Also, I like how funny you are in
your posts. Ignore the weird separation of words at the bottom. It’s a malfunction.

YES! I’ve heard of many of these but haven’t read most of them. *cries* Simon Vs and More Happy Than Not are HIGH on my wish list. And omg I didn’t evne realise Ramona Drowning by Julie Murphy existed?! I LIKE THAT AUTHOR.

I think YA is doing better with their diverse books, but I do think there can always be more. It seems like more books about mental illness and LGBT+ characters are coming out (which is great) but I don’t see as many books set in other countries, or with races other than Caucasian.

YESSSS. I agree. And it is wonderful. I often wonder, though, if the problem is we don’t have authors who feel confident writing about other ethnicities, because if they do and get it WRONG then they get absolutely shot down in flames. You know? It must be tough from the author perspective.

LEBANESE FOOD! I totally must read that. You have a few that I now need to read (OMG TBR SHUT UP I’LL GET TO YOU SOME DAY), incl that and also Five Flavors (mwuahaha) of dumb. Also OMG All the Bright Places killed me, but in a good way mostly. SO GOOD. And I’ve been meaning to read Charm & Strange forEVER.

Love this list. I came so close to putting All the bright places on my list. But seriously, sticking to ten was hard. And I did have eleven on my list. So many awesome diverse reads. I need to add some of these to my TBR ASAP.

This might be the push I need to FINALLY read The Lunar Chronicles. Seriously. Everyone loves them so, and I’m sitting here with my Cinder copy buried at the bottom of my TBR. BUT IT SOUNDS SO GOOD, OKAY. ALSO, These Broken Stars. I’ve pretty much only heard amazing things about those two series. Anyway, excellent post; thanks for stopping by mine! 🙂

Am I literally the ONLY PERSON EVER who hasn’t read the Lunar Chronicles?! Well…I read Cinder. But I found it pretty meh. DOES IT GET BETTER? Or am I just a sour apple (but don’t doubt sour apples, they are actually quite delicious). I VOW TO CAMPAIGN IN #WENEEDDIVERSECAKE!!!

Ohhh, okay, well, tbh *whispers* this is a secret now. But I originally DNF’d Cinder. It didn’t grab me and the library demanded it back. But then I finished it and LOVED IT and then I was addicted. Scarlet is my favourite book of ever. <3 BUT HEY. Not every series is for everyone so don't feel bad. 😉

I don’t think I’ve ever stopped by your blog before. I really like the way you have laid things out and the colorful way you have presented your selections. I think I will look around your blog a little bit more now. Thanks for dropping by my blog and for making a comment.Anne@Headfullofbooks

1. I like your funky words! And at this point, I don’t think anyone really doubts your taste.

2. I recall your excitement when you had your first ARC! Oh, time, what a weird animal.

3. Obviously, I just had to pick up Five Flavors of Dumb because I remember reading its premise and going all like, “wait whuuuuut?????”

4. THEODORE FIIIIIIIINCH!!!

5. I love that your list is centered outside the sexual diversity, because that’s the main flavor of mine, and I think we make a brilliant partner.

5.a. But I especially like to read Bird among these titles.

6. YA is definitely doing an excellent service representing minorities, even more so now with new, emerging voices coming from different backgrounds. We still have a long way to go, yes. But I feel like we’re finally moving at the right direction.

YES I DO LOVE LISTS SO I TOTALLY APPRECIATE THIS COMMENT.
1. My words exist in a world of their own, tbh. DIVERSIFUL. HUZZAH.
2. Omg, where you following me even back then?! HAH *awards you for putting up with me for so long*
3. I KNOW RIGHT?! Crazy premise but it works.
4. FJASDKLFDS *CRIES* AJFKLDSA
5. Too true. I can’t believe I didn’t put a single LGBT book on my list tho. Omg. #fail
6. YES. I think it’s really made huge leaps recently. Like reading a book with diversity and LGBT (even minor characters) and disabilities or MI isn’t that uncommon, I think.

My last diverse-ish read was A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord. The main character was of French-Canadian descent, living in Maine, who made friends with a migrant farm worker of Mexican descent who spent most of the year in Florida. Hah!

It was middle grade, though. Many of the books I’ve read that handle diversity well are middle grade. Young adult is getting there… but it still seems like there are an awful lot of books populated entirely by white, heterosexual, able-bodied, able-minded (well, that’s a matter of opinion in some cases… but you know what i mean) American casts.

Quite a few of the YA books I can think of with diversity take place in the future. Like Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker, Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion, and Holly Bodger’s 5 to 1. Our world is pretty diverse right now, so I’m not sure why young adult literature hasn’t reflected that yet.

hAHAHA. “a matter of opinion in some cases” Omg, isn’t that the truth?! But I guess stupidity and naivety are just part of average humans. *grinds teeth at some characters* BUT YES. I think YA is getting there, still needs a shove of course, but is doing SO MUCH BETTER than in recent years.
I can’t waaait to try 5 to 1.
I actually see a LOT of diversity in contemporaries now days!

I think YA does a good job in showcasing diverse characters, it just requires a bit of time and patience in searching them out. I like how the Lunar Chronicles had such a mix of racially diverse characters.
I READ GONE! But I couldn’t find the second book in my library and it’s been such a long time since I read it…but I loved Gone. It was so…weird and so…fantastic and *starts frothing at mouth*

I totally think it’s improving, too! Like a few years ago it was uber rare, but the authors are listening to our demands. XD GONE IS INCREDIBLE AND AFDJSALK I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT TOO!! I literally never find people who liked it. Sooo many awesome characters who break my heart. The last book is TORTURE. But sooo goooood.

I dated a Lebanese student at university for a little over a year and two of his apartment mates were Lebanese, and you are right , ah… the food. I was , no fooling, a sound technician for a deaf performance troupe. The only thing higher on my unusual jobs list is human chess piece at a resort hotel for rich people in the Catskill Mountains. You have listed quite a few books I now want to read, and also ones that I didn’t know had diverse characters. A very thoughtful list. Thank you. 🙂

My favorite diverse books this year are Simon vs. and Every Last Word, both of which we’ve already talked about. I’m sure there are more, but going through 1100 books on Goodreads is a pain. I really need a “Diverse Books” shelf. I also need a “Dragon Books” shelf, because I haven’t forgotten that you’re looking for recommendations.

I LISTENED TO THE AUDIO AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It helped because some of those paragraphs are like…omg…(I had the book on hand for reference). And yes and yes I want to read both those books since you liked them. *glares at library* OMG I WANT A DRAGON SHELF. I also want a disabilities shelf and a ethnicity shelf…gah. CAn one have too many shelves on goodreads?

I agree that we need diverse books, but also diverse cake. I mean, think about how bad poor red velvet must feel because she isn’t “chocolate” enough for some insensitive people. #StoptheCakeHate

But in seriousness. This was hard for me because I did NOT include mental health stuff of any kind because, you know, event coming up, it would seem repetitive, etc etc. So yeah. I didn’t’ come up with ten. And that made me REALLY sad. I don’t know if I should be mad at myself, mad at the universe, mad at chocolate cake (no, just kidding, NEVER), but I guess it just shows that there’s always a need. Always.

In terms of recommendations… I spy with my little eye…. something Wrathy!! It made the post, via a picture of some other book! None of the Above was fabulous. OH and More Happy Than Not is like a diversity Bingo card- but one that is done amazingly well!

I agree. Chocolate is everywhere. I mean, it’s delicious, but NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THE OTHER CAKES, REALLY. #equallove

I kind of tossed up HOW to do this post. Like I felt like it’d be better to list ethnic diversity, because, I mean, Mental Illness is kinda diverse because not everyone suffers from it. But I feel SO WEIRD about writing a post and writing about skin colour and your mental health as comparable things and THEY’RE KINDA NOT. YOU KNOW?? SO YEAH. But then Mental Illness is technically a disability, so, *shrugs* I don’t know. Trying to be politically correct is so tiring. *sigh*

This is such a great post Cait! I completely agree with all your choices here. Marissa Meyer really does a fantastic job with the diversity in her series – I love how each character has something about them that defies the “norms” and yet, at the same time, that just makes us connect with them even more.

And YES for This Shattered World! I’m all for the wonderful ethnic diversity in that series – especially since I’m Irish myself. *waves Irish flag while leprechauns jump over rainbows in the background*

And I really want to read Charm and Strange and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. They both sound excellent!

These photos are gorgeous! Glorious! Your photography is amazing, Cait. The origami and the wooden floor are so perfect with Bird. (And I particularly like Hate Is Such A Strong Word.) Seems like you went to a lot of places for the photos!
On a completely unrelated note, the book title Strange Charm reminds me of one of Hank Green’s songs, called, why yes, Strange Charm. Quite a quirky (har har, quarky?) song, that one.
I haven’t read any book that’s really diverse, though, unfortunately. However, since we’re on this topic, and I’ve seem some really interesting points about it, LET’S DISCUSS.
I’m totally into the WNDB campaign (not, like I’m in it, but I’m into it…ugh, tricky phrasings), and I really love reading diverse characters. But I’ve also seen some blog posts about not totally agreeing with the whole concept. Some said that the WNDB campaign isn’t really that diverse because it totally ignores some seemingly “mainstream” things, such as Christianity; now that I think of it, I’ve never read a book featuring a Christian character, except for when people celebrating holidays like Christmas. But then, religion is a SUPER sensitive topic and you’ll probably get into WAY more trouble than some other topics if you got it wrong. To be fair though, I’ve read few books featuring Muslim, or Buddhist, or any other sort of religious characters, except for fantasy (YAY FOR AWESOME WORLDBUILDING). Religion seems like the hardest topic to approach among all the topics we’re working for, and I’m not sure if people will be fine with with it–it’s easy to sound preachy, and really controversial. I’m curious, what’s your view on it?

*nods* The Lunar Chronicles. I was thinking “Wow, this is actually really diverse,” when I started Scarlet. I guess the Lunars can’t count though, huh? Though as a fantasy writer, I might be tempted to argue. 😉

I didn’t know Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a book! Now, I want to read it.

Bird sounds fascinating. And Charm and Strange! That cover! I adore it! If I find it, I will read it.

I think the one I want to read the most is the The Five Flavors of Dumb. A deaf protagonist managing a band? Give it to me! I must read it! One, because IRONY! Hello! The world runs on irony (or my world so it seems. . .). Two, music. Three, a deaf protagonist, yes! (Okay, it seems the diversity is the last on my list. Perhaps I should be ashamed. But if the diversity didn’t have to compete with music and irony, then it would easily make it to the top.)

I will have to say that the Sherlock Holmes stories get quite interesting when they involve diversity. They don’t always. But sometimes the client or the villain is from a different country or background (though sometimes that country is America. . .), and we get to see Holmes’ analysis of them.

I haven’t really considered this topic before, but when I think about it, I /haven’t/ read many books with diverse characters. I started The Fault in Our Stars, where the protagonists have cancer. I don’t know if that is considered diverse or not (I didn’t finish it anyway; I really didn’t like that book). But I love watching shows and films with diverse characters. In the BBC Sherlock tv show, John Watson has PTSD and it is really cool and also quite sad. I am always interested in mental disorders like PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolarity, and avoidant personality disorder, so I want to find more books with characters who have them. A friend of mine is writing one currently about a man with schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.
Thanks for this post; I really want to check out some of these books now! 🙂

I’ve actually only heard of about half of these so I’m really excited to discover them, especially if they come with the Cait seal of approval. And some of these I already own and just haven’t read (namely the Michael Grant books) so I don’t really have any excuse.

Of those you’ve listed, I’ve only read All the Bright Places and Bird! I loved both though 🙂

I tend to read quite a lot of diverse books, as I have an interest in LGBTQ YA and YA about mental illnesses/mental health. I’m taking part in the Dive into Diversity Reading Challenge, and I’m proud to say I’ve read 32 diverse books this year! Considering I’ve read about 52 books in total, I think that’s pretty good! 🙂

The last diverse book I read was George by Alex Gino, about a ten-year-old transgender girl, and OH MY GOD IT’S SO GOOD! It doesn’t cover anything different from YA transgender novels, but seeing these experiences through the eyes of a child, and to see what she goes through, it’s just even more emotive. A great ending though! 🙂

For recommendations, below is a link to my Top Ten Tuesday post 😉

As for how well YA is doing at representing minorities, I think it’s doing better than it was! But I’m not really a minority, so I can’t say for definite. (I could be considered a minority for being ginger, maybe, seeing as there are so few of us, but we are EVERYWHERE in YA. Especially fantasy. It’s odd).

Lunar Chronicles is nice too since Cinder deals with some of the problems physically disabled people do like when she doesn’t have a foot for a while! I definitely felt for her when I was having trouble walking D:

I also liked the subtle ways that the Starbound novels bring in diversity with references to woman in positions of power and tech and same-sex relationships that no one bats an eye at in the future <3

Now that I am calm, I will definitely agree with you on the Michael Grant point. But you have a lot of books on this list that I want to read! I have all the Bright Places but I am a strange person and haven’t started it yet. Oh, and I have seen the movie for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, so I need to read that one now too! If you want a recommendation you should try Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, about a girl who has schizophrenia. Incredibly well done.